By Andrew Warshaw
December 30 – UEFA President Michel Platini admits some of his policies, not least financial fair play, have made himself and his organisation unpopular but that he will not waiver from his determination to put European football on a healthier path.
In a bullish end-of-year message, Platini said that ending practises like racism, match-fixing, third-party ownership and overspending was essential in order to ensure that the game is ”free of cheating, violence or injustice.”
”In recent months, football has not always projected the best possible image of itself,” Platini wrote on UEFA’s website. ”Practices which are morally reprehensible have persisted, despite efforts to eradicate them.”
Urging the safeguarding of football’s essential values, Platini produced a long list of behaviours he warned were still blighting the game.
“The manipulation of matches; the violent or discriminatory excesses of extremist fringes which pollute the stands at certain stadiums; the excesses of the transfer system; the extravagant amounts collected by ‘middlemen’; contracts which are not respected; players’ salaries which are not paid; the trafficking of minors, who are promised the moon by peddlers of dreams, but the vast majority of whom only find disappointment and misery; and the third-party ownership of players – a veritable time bomb in modern-day football.”
“These are scourges which are tarnishing football’s image at a time when the game itself has reached unprecedented levels and offers a spectacle like never before.
“Certain bodies which are in charge of handling a large number of these issues are having considerable difficulty in tackling most of these problems head-on. As for the public authorities, it appears that they have finally become aware of these dangers, and are beginning to give priority to cleaning up sport.
“However, time is short, because to not act is, in a way, to already show complicity. Of course, UEFA has its share of responsibility, and we are assuming this responsibility. We would like to – indeed, we should – often act in a quicker and firmer manner.”
Listing some of the specific measures UEFA have taken during 2013 to punish the guilty parties, Platini pointed to clubs being thrown out of the Champions League and Europa League “either for reasons related to their financial mismanagement, or because of their involvement in match-fixing”
Matches had also been played behind closed doors “to punish the behaviour of so-called supporters who do not belong in our stadiums.”
“Finally, European clubs’ financial balance sheets have been studied attentively in the light of ‘break-even’ rules, and the first conclusions will be delivered in a few months’ time. As far as Financial Fair Play and the other issues are concerned, we will be capable of taking measures which are imperative for football’s well-being.
“All of these measures are not making us popular. That is patently clear. However, my aim is not to be popular. My aim is to be responsible.
”It is a responsibility that I must take on, in order to ensure football’s continued existence, as well as the future of our competitions.”
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